Suni or Jalca is one of the eight Natural Regions of Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

. It is located in the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 at an altitude between 3,500 and 4,100 metres above sea level. Suni has a dry and cold weather and there are many glacial valleys.

Flora and fauna

The flora includes gramine

Gramine

Gramine is a naturally occurring indole alkaloid present in several plant species. Gramine may play a defensive role in these plants, since it is toxic to many organisms.-Occurrence:...

ous plants and shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s such as the taya-taya (Caesalpinia spinosa

Caesalpinia spinosa

Caesalpinia spinosa Kuntze, commonly known as tara, is a small leguminous tree or thorny shrub native to Peru. C. spinosa is cultivated as a source of tannins based on a galloylated quinic acid structure...

), the Quishuar (Buddleja

Buddleja

Buddleja, often misspelled Buddleia but commonly known as the Butterfly Bush, is a genus of flowering plants. The generic name bestowed by Linnaeus honours the Reverend Adam Buddle , a botanist and rector in Essex, England, but who could never have seen a plant of the genus.-Classification:The...

 coriacea), and the cantuta

Cantuta

240px|right|thumb|Cantutas in [[Taquile Island]], [[Lake Titicaca]], [[Peru]].The Cantuta is a flowering plant found in the high valleys of the yungas. It is the national flower of Peru and one of two national flowers of Bolivia, the other being the Patujú...

 Cantua buxifolia(a flower considered sacred by the Incas).

Even though it is hard for plants to grow because of the weather, people are able to cultivate such crops as quinoa

Quinoa

Quinoa , a species of goosefoot , is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family...

, cañigua

Kañiwa

Chenopodium pallidicaule, sometimes known as Cañihua, Canihua, Kañiwa, is a species of goosefoot, similar in character and uses to the closely related quinoa....

, broad beans

Vicia faba

This article refers to the Broad Bean plant. For Broadbean the company, see Broadbean, Inc.Vicia faba, the Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Field Bean, Bell Bean or Tic Bean, is a species of bean native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere. A variety is provisionally...

 and ulluco

Ulluco

Ulluco is a plant grown primarily as a root vegetable, secondarily as a leaf vegetable.The ulluco is one of the most widely grown and economically important root crops in the Andean region of South America, second only to the potato...

 Ullucus tuberosus.

The main fauna is the guinea pig

Guinea pig

The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...

 and, among numerous other highland birds, the Chiguanco Thrush

Chiguanco Thrush

The Chiguanco Thrush is a species of bird in the Turdidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and heavily degraded former forest....

.

Overview

Andean Continental Divide

Westside	Eastside
Chala Chala The Chala or "Coast" is one of the eight natural regions in Peru. It is formed by all the western lands that arise from sea level up to the height of 500 meters.... , dry coast	Lowland tropical rainforest Tropical rainforest A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...  or Selva baja Omagua Omagua or Low Jungle is one of the eight Natural Regions of Peru. It is located between 80 and 400 m above sea level in the Amazon rainforest. In this region, there are a lot of rivers that create meanders, swamps and lagoons....
Maritime Yungas	Highland tropical rainforest Tropical rainforest A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...  or Selva alta Rupa-Rupa Rupa-Rupa or High Jungle is one of the eight natural regions of Peru. It is located between 400 and 1,000 m above the sea level. This region has lots of narrow and long valleys and fluvial mountain trails...
Maritime Yungas	Subtropical cloud forest Cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...  or Fluvial Yungas
Quechua Quechua (Geography) Quechua is one of the eight Natural Regions of Peru and is between 2,300 and 3,500 m above sea level. It is composed of big valleys divided by rivers fed by estival rains.Its flora includes Andean alder, gongapa, and arracacha...  - Montane valleys	Quechua Quechua (Geography) Quechua is one of the eight Natural Regions of Peru and is between 2,300 and 3,500 m above sea level. It is composed of big valleys divided by rivers fed by estival rains.Its flora includes Andean alder, gongapa, and arracacha...  - Montane valleys
Tree line	Tree line - about 3,500 m
Suni, scrubs and agriculture	Suni, scrubs and agriculture

Mountain Top:

• Mountain passes - 4,100 m
• Puna grassland
  Puna grassland
  The Puna grassland ecoregion, of the montane grasslands and shrublands biome, is found in the central Andes Mountains of South America. It is considered one of the eight Natural Regions in Peru, but extends south as far as northern Argentina and Chile....
  
  
• Andean-alpine desert
• Snow line
  Snow line
  The climatic snow line is the point above which snow and ice cover the ground throughout the year. The actual snow line may seasonally be significantly lower....
  
   - about 5,000 m
• Janca
  Janca
  Janca is one of the eight Natural Regions of Peru . It is located in the frozen heights where the condor lives.The fauna in this region is limited because of the very cold weather...
  
  - rocks, snow and ice
• Peak